Rick Parfitt, Status Quo guitarist, dies at 68

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Rick Parfitt was a member of Status Quo for nearly 50 years.

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The guitarist died of an infection in a hospital in Spain

He stopped touring earlier this year after a heart attack

Status Quo was the opening band at Live Aid in 1985

(CNN)A quintessential rocker with tight blue jeans and long hair, Britain's Rick Parfitt died of an infection just two months after quitting Status Quo, the band that launched him into stardom.

"The Quo," as the group is affectionately called, has sold more than 125 million records, and can claim more than 50 No. 1 singles in its native Britain.

The 68-year-old Parfitt was hospitalized in Marbella, Spain on Thursday, after suffering "complications to a shoulder injury incurred by a previous fall," his family and manager said in a statement.

He died of an infection Saturday.

"You live rock and roll, you pay for it"

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Parfitt and the band found global success with a string of hits including "Rockin' All Over The World" and "Whatever You Want."

Their first album was released in 1968 and brought them their first hit, "Pictures of Matchstick Men." It reached No. 7 in the UK charts and No. 12 in the United States, the highest the band would ever chart in the States, according to Billboard.

The band went on to release more than 40 other albums and play more than 6,000 shows, according to its own estimate.

But after a musical career spanning nearly 50 years, Parfitt collapsed after a show in Turkey in June, suffering his third heart attack.